Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Spring Hopes



Spring, a California spring:  three weeks in February when the sun shines, flowers bloom, and then March arrives, when our rainy season begins.  The beginning of spring reminds me of Japan and Betty, a Japanese woman, who exclaimed that she loved spring green, the new green of leaves as they unfurl.
March reminds me of the full moon and the vernal equinox with the days as long as the nights and the week before Theo was born when the moon shone into our bedroom late at night. Its round face spread light over my face as I turned to find a comfortable place to sleep. Theo came the day after Easter that year, and like spring, he was a sign of Hope.



Thursday, March 1, 2012

Random Surprises


                             

                                 10 RANDOM SURPRISES FROM THE NATURAL WORLD                        

1.              The sun shining through the ice crystals in the air at the top of a ski slope in Utah.
2.              The hummingbird moth flitting around our yard – the first one I had every seen.
3.              The  thousands of fireflies in the air when the outdoor restaurant at the bottom of Mt. Takao in Japan turned out all the lights.
4.              The butterfly that landed on my arm.
5.              The snake that moved in the gutter as I walked by.
6.              Theo laughing with glee at the gumball-sized hail rattling down on the deck in Minnesota.
7.              The black widow spider crawling up out of the watering can that I was holding.
8.              The 60-mile an hour blizzard we skied in at the top of Squaw Valley.
9.              The voluntary acorn that has grown into a full-sized tree at the top of our hill.
10.          The moon creating a silver sky and ocean on Highway 1 near Big Sur.


                                              15 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME


1.              I’m left handed.
2.              I drink tea more often than coffee.
3.              I wanted to live in Japan when I was young.
4.              I’m a cat person, though I like dogs too.
5.              I wanted to be a ballerina, a doctor, a biologist, a naturalist, a title designer for movies, a caterer, a dress designer, a successful woman artist, and a bed and breakfast owner.
6.              Now I would like to bake and write and garden and be with friends, and maybe paint and make prints too.
7.              I like scarves.
8.              I like the feel of the cold, even close to zero degrees, if I am dressed for the weather.
9.              I don’t like wind.
10.          I like adventures, but I didn’t take the job as an assistant flagpole painter.
11.          I love being at home.
12.          I love driving long distances while listening to loud music.
13.          I liked living in Tokyo better than living in Paris.
14.          My first memory is of my dad coming to soothe me in my crib with a made-up song based on Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.
15.          I am finally learning about gratitude.